Too much miscellany, not enough time.

December 07, 2009

Arado is a perfectly fine and friendly Korean style Japanese restaurant with a helpful staff, an oozingly sincere mission statement, and side room bizarrely dedicated to the oceanic world. But one major element that defined the place's first incarnation is long gone: the man who went on to become arguably the most famous sushi chef in America.

Along with delis and era-appropriate health food restaurants, modest Japanese restaurants were a staple of our hamisheh restaurant eating in late 1970s and early 80s Los Angeles. The regular rotation included Aoi on First Street (still there), Kuishimbo on Wilshire and Wilton (moved to 6th and Catalina), Feast from the East when my dad's friend ran it, and Benibasha on Olympic and Norton, with its awesome jukebox. (After we saw Grease at a Hollywood movie theater, I was thrilled to find "You're the One That I Want" included among the machine's killer choices of late 70s pop hits.)

My sister was the adventurous one when we ate out, and an unusually young raw food enthusiast. Few single-digit aged kids ordered steak tartare at Chasen's or asked their mom to bring home a dozen oysters from Phil's Phresh Fish. I stuck to the tried and true. I'd eaten more chicken teriyaki and tempura combos by age 10 than I care to count.

When a simple Japanese restaurant and sushi bar called Saba-Ya opened its doors near Kuishimbo on Wilshire and Wilton in the early 80s, our family went there a lot, in part because Alison's seemingly endless appetite for the sashimi, and friends owned a women's clothing store in the same strip mall. The sushi chef and owner was an affable Japanese gentleman who warmly welcomed us to the bar, where he'd ply my sister with his product. I wanted to want to eat those delicate slices of translucent raw fish, but in reality, I found sushi revolting. Cucumber rolls were fine, but raw tuna itself made me gag. Literally. In front of the nice sushi guy. Classy!

After a few years the main chef was no longer at Saba-Ya. We remained regulars anyway, but got word he'd opened a new joint across the street, tucked in the back corner of the slick two-story strip mall that also featured an exciting new take-out place called El Pollo Loco. Apparently the other sushi bar was a step up from Saba-Ya. So one afternoon my dad and I poked our heads in to scope it out; the light stained wood paneled room was beautiful, and still remains in my limited experience the paragon of less-is-more impeccable Japanese taste, but we couldn't spot a menu anywhere. Plus it was filled with seriously serious businessmen, and the hushed sound level was intimidatingly serene.

We then read how a sushi chef named Masa Takayama who's run a little restaurant called Saba-Ya operated THE most expensive restaurant in Los Angeles located in a Koreatown strip mall. It also happened to be Marlon Brando's favorite. Suddenly the situation made sense, and Ginza Sushi-Ko soon after relocated to Beverly Hills.

Arado doesn't exactly retain the luster of its previous tenant. But it's good for sharing an easy lunch and stories with the kids, and using nostalgic reflection as consolation for not eating at Masa any time soon. Who knows, maybe he'll want to revisit his humble L.A. roots someday.

September 22, 2008

My feelings towards whatever historic preservation fieldwork I'm doing are largely dictated by the available eats in the area. Long days in Pico Union were good. Days in West Adams, not so much.

I agreed to a project in K-Town largely because of lunch options. Sadly I'm not organized enough to compile a list of restaurants, but at least my first random choice worked out well.

Nae Go Hyang is in the block-long Oxford Square strip mall on the south side of 8th between Oxford and Serrano. It's a crowded jumble of signs, most of which I can't read for obvious reasons. Some Peeping Tom action had to suffice when picking a lunch spot.

Most people were eating big stainless steel and ceramic bowls full of noodles and soup in different colors and textures. Turns out Nae Go Hyang essentially specializes in buckwheat and whole wheat-based goods. They mixed chewy buckwheat noodles with julienned veggies and a pickly sweetish red sauce at a good tolerance level for me. The leek and veggie pancake was super tasty too, especially for all of $5.54. Big shared buckets of kimchee and tongs are part of the deal.

September 04, 2006

As was recently explained to me, apparently these two things are the deciding factors between Beverly Soon Tofu and its neighbor across the street, Sokongdong. Sokongdong was the first soon tofu house I ever went to and I remember those enoki mushrooms and fully rounded broth so fondly. It's been so long since I've been there that I don't clearly recall the softer, more curdled texture of the tofu. But I do remember the broth being better than Beverly, where it's sharper and tastes more acidic.

But Beverly's got great panchan that include silky marinated tofu discs, sweet pickled cucumbers and sesame bean sprouts, plus atmosphere to spare. Though I'm not sure for how much longer I'll be able to sit on those backless natural wood benches.

June 19, 2006

How am I supposed to keep track of all the foods I'm supposed to avoid? I didn't know soft cheeses like feta and the queso fresco served with the Andean mega corn at Los Balcones del Peru are off limits. And I thought I was being responsible by ordering the choclo and boiled sweet potato on the side so as to avoid the ceviche juice. But I ate the cheese. I am already proving to be a terrible mother.

My doctor also gently suggested I put away the heels I was caught wearing on my last visit, even if they were my comfy old lady Ferragamos. There's no denying that it's time to enter the flats-only shoe phase, so I waved a sad temporary goodbye to the many boxes in my closet. Now the cruel irony is that my favorite flats feel a tad too snug.

To my credit, I managed to baby sit my friends' 16-month-old without incident (she's happens to be a joy and an early-to-bed, deep sleeper), eat balanced meals and snacks, and make sure to touch only the super well-cooked pieces atSoot Bull Jeep.

Which leads to some exciting news. SBJ is back up to an A! No more facing that fat red C in the window that we sorrowfully avoided. I'm so happy to have their charcoal grilled meats again -- the cooked stuff over gas at other BBQ restaurants doesn't compare. All they gotta do next is fix the overhead hoods, since the intense smoke might be not so great for Baby or for any of our lungs. (OK, enough already.) When we got home our clothes went straight into the hamper.